He That Would Thrive Lyrics
Get up at five if you want to get ahead, and once you have made it, you can sleep until seven. This six-line rhyme is old farming advice set to a rhythm.
He That Would Thrive
He that would thrive
Must rise at five;
He that hath thriven
May lie till seven;
And he that by the plough would thrive,
Himself must either hold or drive.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/he-that-would-thrive/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 5 to 11 years
What Does He That Would Thrive Mean?
To thrive means to do well. The rhyme says that anyone who wants to succeed must get up at five in the morning, while someone who has already thriven (done well) can stay in bed until seven. The last two lines are about farming: if you want your farm to do well, you must work the plough yourself, either holding its handles or driving the horses that pull it.
History and Origin
Halliwell collected the rhyme in The Nursery Rhymes of England, but its plough couplet is an old country proverb. Benjamin Franklin used it in The Way to Wealth (1758), his famous collection of sayings about hard work and saving.
Learning Activities
- Wake-up times: ask everyone in the family what time they get up, and who would manage five o'clock.
- How a plough works: look at a picture of a horse-drawn plough and find the handles and the harness.
- Compare: read it alongside Early to Bed, another saying about getting up early.